"Rather than live up to the terms of its contract with Yiannopoulos to publish Dangerous, and despite pre-orders projected to propel the book onto leading best-selling book lists, Simon & Schuster wrongfully, and in bad faith, terminated the contract with Yiannopoulos in violation of its terms and canceled Dangerous under pressure from authors, bookselling accounts, business and special interest groups, celebrities, and various other self-appointed censors," the civil suit, filed in New York State Supreme Court on Friday, charged.

Simon & Schuster issued a statement in response: "Although we have not been officially served, we believe that Yiannopoulos's lawsuit is publicity-driven and entirely without merit. Simon & Schuster will vigorously defend itself against any such action, and fully expects to prevail in court."

The publisher canceled the Dangerous deal in February after podcasts surfaced in which Yiannopoulos seemed to condone sex between men and boys. He then resigned from Breitbart News. He said he does not condone pedophilia, a stance he repeats in his new book.

Yiannopoulous held a rally in front of Simon & Schuster's offices in New York Friday and announced he had filed the lawsuit.

"They have to pay for silencing conservatives," he said at the rally, according to trade publication Publishers Weekly. "How many books could I have sold with their marketing muscle?"